2024-08-31
Last week, a landmark case in Australia ruled that a biological male (Tickle) who identified as a woman was indirectly discriminated against when removed from a female-only social media app called "Giggle for Girls" on the basis of gender identity.
He was initially accepted on the app in February 2021 with submission of a selfie with the app's AI tool but "was later blocked when Ms. Grover surveyed the image herself."
The app's founder said "she does not accept that a person who transitions from male to female surgically, socially and legally is a woman, and removed [Tickler] from the app as she does with 'all males.' She also argued that sex was 'unchangeable.'"
The judge (Justice Bromwich) stated that "in its contemporary ordinary meaning, sex is changeable" and that "in relation to the direct discrimination claim, the evidence did not establish that Ms. Tickle was excluded from the Giggle app by reason of her gender identity, although it remains possible that this was the real but unproven reason" saying "that the alleged discriminator would have needed to be aware of the person's gender identity."
This case is important because it falsely reinforces the narrative that trans-identifying women have equal legitimacy to biological women in all aspects of the culture and is a threat to their rights and protection. Additionally, it insists that a biological reality - being created male or female - can be changed when we know it cannot (See link below: Every Cell Has a Sex). Sex is binary, immutable, and unchanging, despite the self-perceived notion that surgery, hormones, or social transition change this reality.
Source and quotes from The Australian's article by Joanna Panagopoulos titled "'Sex is Changeable', judge rules."
See more articles below:
- The Sydney Morning Herald: "Trans woman wins landmark discrimination case against female-only app"
- MediaNet: "Federal Court victory for transgender women in Tickle vs Giggle Case"
- SBS News: "'Stolen years of my life': Roxanne Tickle speaks after landmark 'what is a woman' case win"
- Daily Mail: "Transgender woman wins groundbreaking 'what is a woman' case after she was kicked off a female-only app"
Every Cell Has a Sex by ncbi.nlm.nih.gov